Canadian Leg (6 days)
October 16 - My relatives arrive in Toronto in the afternoon and ate out at Kelsey's for dinner
October 17 - Went to Niagara Falls. I did had good shots of the falls. Too bad we didn't go to the Maid of the Mist this time cuz it closed by the time we got to the booth near 5pm. I didn't get a chance to go to the casino either. Luckily, I checked out Clifton Hill.
October 18 - Went shopping at the nearest mall (Scarborough Town Centre) and ate out at Mandarin for dinner. I was able to see Ugly Betty @ 11pm...phew! Wait till 10/27 to see the dress and shoes my relatives bought for me.
October 19 - Met my aunties relatives. Treated them for Swiss Chalet and then went to Edwards Gardens.
October 20 - House blessing at my house. This time with family. You may say its a party.
October 21 - Attended mass at the former church I used to go to: St. Bonaventure. Afterwards, went to the Casa Loma, CN Tower, and the Eaton Centre. Finally, I had one of those tna bags that everyone is wearing at my school from that store Aritzia.
NJ/NYC leg (1 week)
October 22 - Took the long long drive to NJ/NYC. This is the 3rd time i'm eating McDonald's. I ate McDonald's on the 18th and the 21st...i'm not kidding. We arrived at my Mama Mel's house in Bloomfield around 11pm.
October 23 - Went to Caesars palace in Atlantic City. Ate lunch at the La Piazza Buffet at Caesars. The boardwalk is so breezy. Went a little shopping at the Outlet Mall.
October 24 - Went to the Garden State Plaza to go shopping for 7 hours. Ate Japanese food from Sarku Japan and ice cream for dessert from Dippin' Dots in what its called the ice cream of the future.
October 25 - Went on the 'Spirit Of New York Cruise' through upper Manhatthan and the Bronx courtesy from my cousin/nephew. I was able to see the Empire State Building but not the Statue of Liberty. The George Washington Bridge was huge when you're close to it. The crew was entertaining and doing some impersonations such as The Village People. The other cruise (Spirit of New Jersey) I rode in years ago took us pass lower Manhatthan and the Statue of Liberty. I saw a glimpse of ground zero beofre heading back to NJ. Afterwards, we went to the Marriott Courtyard (close to Newport Mall) for one night then went a little shopping at Newport Mall. Finally had a bed in a bag + managed to watch Ugly Betty in the hotel room. However, I missed only the first 5 minutes of it.
October 26 - Went shopping again at Newport Mall. Ate Sarku Japan again for lunch including some sushi. It's also the eve before my cousins/niece's wedding. Nuptual rehearsal was at St. Aedan R.C. Church and dinner rehearsal was at Rose & Joe's Italian Restaurant. Afterwards, we took our belongings to the Sheraton Parsippany Hotel to sleep for 2 days. The hotel does look like a castle, just what the Sheraton website said.
October 27 - The day of my cousins/niece's wedding. My Aunt treated us breakfast from our hotel room rather than downstairs for the complimentary breakfast. It was a rainy day at first prior to the wedding. We kinda got lost on the way to the church for the ceremony. By the time we arrived at the church, the bride (my cousin/niece) had arrived. I tried to get good shots, but the pictures turned kind of dark. When the ceremony was over, it was sunny outside. I heard it brings good luck when it turns out to be sunny. We got kinda lost again on the way back to the hotel for the reception/cocktail party for the wedding. I know almost all the guests where hungry and went straight to the food and not the seats during the Cocktail hour. An hour later, we moved to the reception. There was a photo booth (the ones you see in a shopping mall) outside the ballroom. Reason it was there because the couple wanted a scrapbook with all the guests. Some of the guests (bridesmaids and groomsmen) where making poses such as a peace sign or being silly on their photos. On the sheet to put the photo, it asked where did we come from and how many miles, any advice for the couple, any memories of the couple prior to getting married, etc. I didn't eat much of the main course during the reception cause of the fact I ate more during the cocktail hour. On the projector, there was a montage of the two, when they were young, how they met, and tributes to their fathers. Everyone was in awe. Same with the parent-couple dance. My cousins/nephews where crying when they were dancing with her. Their speeches to the couple where good. The groom has a big family and they're so tall. Two of the groom's sisters caught the brides bocquet. It almost came to me, but i'm so young to do this ^^;;. Again, I took some good shots of the couple during the wedding cake part. The wedding was more lively and everyone was happy. Not much people ate the desserts. The day went so fast. After the reception and the wedding was over, we took the bridesmaids flowers to our room and took some photos with it.
October 28 - We got treated to breakfast by my Mama Mel at the hotel. We then checked out and took some pics of the hotel before we went back to Bloomfield to get the rest of our stuff. We got kinda lost again along the way and stopped by the 'Super Stop & Shop' to shop for chocolate. She treated us for lunch at the IHOP (International House of Pancakes) Restaurant, near her house. After lunch, my family went to visit my relatives on my mom's side and ate dinner at my cousin's house. After saying goodbye, we went to the Courtyard Marriott @ Newark Airport to spend our final night in NJ/NYC.
October 29 - We checked out of the hotel and said goodbye to my relatives T_T. They where returning back to the Philippines and California. On the way back, we had few stopovers including The Crossings Outlets in Tannersville, Pennsylvania to do some last minute shopping before crossing the border in Canada.
Michigan Leg (2 days)
November 9 - Going to the states again, this time Michigan with my dad's classmates. The drive didn't take long heading into Michigan via Sarnia. It only lasted 6 hours long. We slept at one of my dad's classmates house for the next 2 days. Very nice house I seen.
November 10 - We went to a Christmas store in Frankenmuth and then went to the Prime Outlets in Birch Run, which is nearby. Lots of people, particularly Ontarians shopping there. There were line ups/sales at Coach (kind of looks like a Boxing Day shopping), the Bath and Body Works Outlet, and the Bass Store. Got myself a new pair of shoes from Bass and a Liz Claiborne bag from the Liz Claiborne Outlet Store. It said 'Buy one, take one free.' I took the matching wallet as the 'free item.' Afterwards, we went to another outlet mall, the Great Lakes Crossing which is an indoor mall like the one in Buffalo. I was able to get hand soap (Cherry blossom flavor) at the Bath and Body Works Outlet.
November 11 - We were meeting up with another of my dad's classmates, this time in Windsor, Ontario. It took half and hour to get pass the Detroit-Windsor border via the Ambassador Bridge. I saw the skyline of Detroit, but it was so cloudy and foggy (-_-). After eating lunch in Windsor, we took the long drive along the 401 back to Toronto.
